Perforating apparatus and work placing device for same



Aug. 14, 1945. G. F. WALES 2,382,190 PERFORATING APPARATUS AND WORK PLACING DEVICE FOR'SAME I Filed June 28, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 iim mm was W. 0'0: 09 00190 00 qzogooo "lhll/ l l .1 a

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INVENTOR Aug. 14, 1945. G. F. WALES 2,382,190

PERFQRATING APPARATUS AND WORK PLACING DEVICE FOR SAME Filed June 28, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 B a m E5 o o 62 00( 3 O0 0O '0 0 00k .OC)O 2 o o T 71E- 29/+ I o llllh L l I oogoooogooo ogo qgog/ooqr I 172 .6. :2cgoggolggla9000c).l 70' 2 /9 2:525 23 Z 20 @0 5? 0 0L L/ I 22 \w HIM In, 10

77 INVENTOR 76 Patented Aug. 14; 1945 OFFICE PERFORATING APPARATUS AND WORK PLAOIN G DEVICE FOR SAME George F. Wales, Kenmore, N. Y.

Application June 28, 1944, Serial No. 542,518

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a sheet metal perforating apparatus of the general character shown in my patent application Serial No. 479,614 and more particularly to the method and apparatus for placing and removing work-pieces in connection with same, which, when in position to be operated upon, are entirely within the limits of the punch plate.

The assembled perforating apparatus referred to above I have elected to call "plate set perforating apparatus. Thi plate set apparatus is used in a conventional stamping press having a stationary bed and a reciprocating ram, which moves toward and away from said bed. In operation the apparatus is placed on the bed of the press and the ram in making its stroke contacts the top surfaces of the punching elements and depresses them until the guide sleeves press upon the work and the punches are forced through it after which the ram ascends and the punching elements return to their normally elevated position.

The perforating apparatus shown in the above referred-to application is different from other perforating devices in that it is comprised'of two plates spaced apart in fixed relation to each other. The lower plate-carries a plurality of die element which have working surfaces extending to within a short distance of the under side of the top plate. This space is therefore rather confined due to the necessity of having the plates and punch and die elements closely coupled to obtain accurate functioning. Thus the plates of the perforating apparatus referred to are so close together that the placing of a work-piece into it, and the removal of same, is diillcult for direct manual operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for feeding and removing work-pieces from the perforating apparatus described although it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its use to this one application, but may be used or modified to suit any condition.

A further object is to provide a feeding apparatus which is simple in construction, efficient in its purpose and economical to manufacture and use and which can be made to accommodate work-pieces of various sizes A further object is to provide a feeding carriage which is adjustable to make it universal in its purpose.

Another object is to provide a feeding mechanism for a plate set apparatus which can be operated immediately the press ram starts to ascend and thus speed the removal and insertion of work-pieces over die set operation where the punch implement is mounted to the ram and reciprocates with it so that the work-pieces cannot be readily and safely removed and inserted until the ram of the press comes to a stop at the top of its stroke.

A further object is to provide a safe materialhandling device which may be loaded and unloaded outside of the operating apparatus.

These objects and the several novel features of the invention are hereinafter more fully described and the preferred form of construction by which these objects are attained is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is perspective plan view showing the preferred form of feed carriage with a work-piece resting on the side rails and with the work engaging clips properly positioned in relation to the work-piece.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing the feed carriage in operating position in a plate set die.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the feed carriage and plate set die taken on line 33, Fig. 2 showing the work-piece nested ready for perforating. a

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but showing how the front end of the feed carriage is raised to lift the work-piece above the top of the short front nesting pins prior to removing the work-piece.

Fig. 5 is a partial horizontal section showing the feed carriage partially removed from the plate set die with the rear work engaging clips in engagement with the work-piece.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal partial sectional view showing the relative position of the feed carriage to the work-piece either prior to use in feeding the work-piece into its nest or immediately after a work-piece has been slightly removed.

Fig. 7 is an angular view of a work engaging clip showing the positioning pin and spring retaining clip means.

In the following description similar reference characters indicate like parts in the ng-.

of screws 13 and wing nuts ll. As shown mm.

11 screws I 8 may be welded, soldered. or otherwise attached to side rails II for convenience in assembling or storing mlthough not shown in the drawings, side 'ralls ll may be of various lengths depending on the size of the plate set with which they are used and the size of the work-piece to be handled. Thus various lengths of side rails II are interchangeably attached to the front rails II and it. In order to assemble these rails to prevent twisting the inside edge of the side rail fits snugly into the corners of the angular bend in H and if as shown by numeral "Fig. 11. v

'I'herails llmaybespacedapartasdesir by adjusting front rails II and II by removing wing nuts ll, separating the two front rails and then reassembling them as desired, both of the rails being provided with holes ll spaced apa equally to accommodate screws ll.

In a preferred form the side rails II are provided with holes is spaced to enable work endeviee may be varied to suit condi- ,a,ssa,1oo I U v clips llengage the work-pieca-after-whicha slightadditionalpresslu'ewillindicatetotheoperator whether the piece has been nested prop;

the work-piece will be moved for-ward, whereas erly behind pin a or not. If it has if it is nested properly. no movement will occur. After the operation has been performed-the front end of the feed carriage a'ssembly is lifted as indicated by the arrow-A Fig. 4 which lifts the work-piece 21 from the die elements and above the top of gauge pin II. so that the forward movement as indicated by arrow B withdraws' the work-piece from the apparatus. It will be seenin Figs. 3 and 6 that the side rails I I are narrower than the height of the die elements 29 so that when the work-piece is resting on upper faces of the die elements the upper aces of'the side rails are clear of the underside of the work-piece.

Fig. 4 shows the front end of the side rails elevated and is the position which the feed carriage assumes just before the work-piece is lowered 4 into its nest behind pin 30. or if the piece is being removed, this view shows the piece just after it has been lifted out of the nest and before the rear clips have engaged the blank for removal. With the rear clips in engagement with the workpiece it the carriage'were moved practically out of the plate set, the relation would be as shown aging clips 2| to be positioned as required. In-

. it into the plate set and others to engage the rear and to withdraw the work-piece from it. Al-

though these work e ga ing clips may be of any suitable design, I show by wayof example, the clip shown in Fig. 7 which has an extruded pin or tube 22 which engages a hole I! in rail it and which also has a spring clip 23 which holds the clip in position as shown in Fig. 9. In order to apply Or remove clip 20, it is necessary that it be held approximately in the position shown in Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 9 the work engaging end of the clip is provided with a projection 24- which prevents the work from riding over the clip and also a vertical work engaging face II.

As shown in Fig. 1 work engaging clips 20 are spaced farther apart than the width of the work to allow work-pieces to be readily placed on the side rails without interference from the clips. when a work-piece is fed into a plate set apparatus, the front clips engage the work-piece as shown at 20 in Figs. 1 and 3.

As shown in Fig. 3 the work-piece 21 has been fed as far back as it can be as it is stopped by engagementwith the nesting pins II. when in this position the work-piece rests on the upper face of the die elements is of the plate set and is also nested behind front pin 30. After a workpiece is nested in position as shown in Fig. 3 the feed carriage is moved forward until the rear in Fig. 5 with the work-piece being practically all the way outof the apparatus. It is, however, in most cases unnecessary tomove the feed carriage as far as shown in Fig. 5 as a slight movement, as shown in Fig. 6, brings the front edge of the work-piece out far enough so that it may be grasped for removal. Also the next workpiece may be readily placed in the position as shown in Fig. 6, after which the front end of the I I one form of my invention but it will be understood food carriage is lifted so that the front clips engage the work-piece when the carriage is pushed into the apparatus.

In the above specification, I have described that the same is capable of further modification without departing i'romthe spirit and scope of the invention .as defined by the following claims.

I claim as my inventionz.

1. A punch and die apparatus including a pair of plates spaced apart in fixed relation to each other, upwardly projecting die elements mounted on the lower of said plates, work locating means projecting above the top face of said die elements, and means for feeding work into the space between said plates and against said locating means including a frame comprising arms extending into the space between said plates, and work engaging elements on said arms.

2. A punch and die apparatus including a pair of plates spaced apart in fixed relation to each other, upwardly projecting die elements mounted on the lower of said plates, work locating means projecting above the top face of said die elements, and means for feeding work into the space between. said plates and against said locating means including a frame comprising arms ex tending into the space between said plates, and work engaging elements on said arms, the top surface of said: arms being flush with or below the upper surface of said die elements and work locating means.

d 3. A punch and die apparatus including a pair of plates spaced apart' in fixed relation to each other, upwardly projecting die elements mounted on the lower of said plates, work locating means projecting above the top face of said dieelements, and means for feeding work into the space between said plates. and .against said locating means including a frame comprising arms extending into the space between said plates, and work engaging elements on said" arms, the top surface of said arms being flush with or below the'upper surface of said die elements and work locating means and the work engaging elements being above the upper surface of said die elements.

4. A punch and die apparatus including a pair of plaixes spaced apart in fixed relation to each other, upwardly projecting die elements mounted on the lower of said plates, work locating means projecting above the top face of said die elements, and means for feeding work into the space between said plates and against said locating means including a frame comprising arms extending into the space between said plates, and work engaging elements on said arms, the top surface of said arms being flush with or below the upper surface of said die elements and work locating means and the work engaging elements being above the upper surface of said die elements each of said work engaging elements consisting of an adjustable member provided with a prong to overhang said work when engaging same.

5. In a hole punching apparatus comprised of a pair of flat plates rigidly supported in fixed relation to each other and having a multiplicity of die units arranged in holes in one plate and punch units in the holes in the other plate, a feed carriage for positioning a work-piece between said plates and within a nest of locating elements including a pair of laterally spaced legs and a cross-piece connecting said legs at their front ends, each of said legs being provided with means for urging said work-piece into said nest and also with means for removing said workpiece from said apparatus.

6. In a hole punching apparatus comprised of a pair of flat plates rigidly supported in fixed relation to each other and having a multiplicity of die units arranged in holes in one plate and punch units in the holes in the other plate, a feed carriage for positioning a work-piece between said plates and within a nest of locating elements including a pair of laterally spaced legs and a cross piece connecting said legs at their front ends, each of said legs being provided with means for urging said work-piece into said nest and also means for removing said work-piece from said apparatus said means including work engaging clips adiustably mounted on said legs.

I. Work feeding means for use in a perforating apparatus having die elements projecting above a mounting base said means including a pair of 8. Work feeding means for use in a punch and die apparatus and including a pair of laterally spaced flat strips vertically disposed and a cross piece connecting said legs at their front ends. each of said legs being provided with a series of holes, adjustable clips mounted on said legs and each being provided with a pin for engagement with one of said holes and means for retaining said clip in the position mounted.

9. Work feeding means for use in a punch and die apparatus and including a pair of laterally spaced flat strips vertically disposed and a cross piece connecting said legs at their front ends, each of said legs being provided with a series of holes, adjustable clips mounted on said legs and each being provided with a pin for engagement with one of said holes and means for retaining said clip in the position mounted, said cross piece being provided with means for changing the spacing between said legs.

10. A feed carriage for positioning a work-piece within a nest of locating elements in a punch and die apparatus consisting of a movable frame having means for urging said work-piece into said nest upon movement of said frame.

11. A feed carriage for positioning a work-piece within a nest of locating elements in a punch and die apparatus consisting of a movable frame having means for urging said work-piece into said nest upon movement of said frame, said means comprising a clip adjustable on'said frame.

12. A perforating apparatus including a pair of flat plates spaced apart and held in fixed relation to each other and having holes therein, die units arranged in the holes of one of said plates and punch units in the holes of the other plate,

' each punch unit being in axial'alinement with a die unit, said punch units being slidable in the holes in their plate toward and from said die units to perforate work placed between said plates and means for positioning said work including a feed carriage comprising a pair of laterally extending legs and a, cross piece connecting said legs, said legs extending into said apparatus and being movable transversely between said plates by means of said cross piece and each of said legs being provided with work engaging means for urging said work into a locating nest in said apparatus and also with means for removing said work from said apparatus.

GEORGE F. WALES. 

